Columbia Basin defeated Pierce in Game 2 of the East Region series 5-4 sending Columbia Basin to the NWAC Championships. Brooks Rasmussen and Steven Meier each had 3 hits to lead CBC.

Dylan Berry got the nod on the bump to begin the day but was not his best. Coupled with some control issues and a very tight strike zone, the second-year righty was only able to make it 4 innings. Pierce got on the board early with a walk and a couple of singles in the first. CBC countered with an RBI of their own from Gaven Mattson.

A couple of mistakes behind Berry lead to another Pierce run in the second as the Hawks looked disorganized on the defensive end to begin the afternoon. The Raiders again capitalized on an error in the 4th to extend their lead to 3-1. From there, CBC would mount their comeback bid to take over the game.

Will Baker brought home Harper Huang on a sac fly in the 4th after Huang singled and advanced on a balk. Jaxon Henderson came in to relieve Berry and was just effective enough at the right times. It was Huang in the bottom of the 5th connecting on a 2-2 fastball that he rode all the way to the fence bringing home two runs and giving CBC a 4-3 lead.

Pierce tied it back up immediately in the 6th after a walk, single and a wild pitch but Henderson was able to induce an inning-ending double play to get out of the jam. Basin just missed in the 7th, leaving the bases loaded with two outs. Brady Toth came on in the 8th and was able to work around a walk with a couple of fly outs.

The moment of the game came when Makai Miyamoto was able to draw a leadoff walk and advance to second on a Baker sac bunt. Rasmussen took a 1-1 fastball and drove it through the 6 hole to bring home Miyamoto for the go-ahead run. Basin did load the bases but were turned away for just the one run.

Toth wasted no time in the 9th pounding the zone early getting a couple of fly outs before getting the game ending ground ball that 1st baseman Chris Mehren applied a tag to the runner just in time to give the Hawks the win.

Columbia Basin will open up the Championship tournament in Longview against South champion Linn-Benton on Thursday at 12:35pm.